{"id":74,"date":"2009-08-04T18:07:31","date_gmt":"2009-08-04T17:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/?page_id=74"},"modified":"2022-06-13T22:03:08","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T21:03:08","slug":"updates-to-the-history-of-the-fitzhugh-family-since-2007","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/?page_id=74","title":{"rendered":"Updates to the book “The History of the Fitzhugh Family”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ever-Expanding Volumes of The History of the Fitzhugh Family<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The earliest edition of this work appeared in January 1999, and was supplied to numerous family members who kindly bought copies of the book privately published by Henry A. Fitzhugh. As with all labours of love, and especially family histories that are subject to ongoing research, the book has expanded regularly, so that a wide variety of copies, with ever increasing content, have come into the field as the years rolled on. Then, in January 2007, the then current version was published as a web print-on-demand book by AuthorHouse, details of which are elsewhere on this website. The purpose of this page is to describe the changes that have taken place over the years, so that readers of earlier versions can see what changes have been made.\u00a0 Some of them are available directly below, and all the rest of them are available by contacting the author on henryfitzhugh@talktalk.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first edition of 1999 had 153 pages to Volume I and 201 pages to Volume II.<\/p>\n

The AuthorHouse edition of 2007 has 163 pages to Volume I and 320 pages to Volume II with 18 more photographs and 4 more illustrations.<\/p>\n

The latest\u00a0 version\u00a0 of April 2009 has 163 pages to Volume I and 342 pages to Volume II, with 21 more photographs and 4 more illustrations.<\/p>\n

Additions between 1999 and the AuthorHouse edition of 2007.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volume I<\/strong><\/p>\n

New<\/span> Appendix One<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0 Ancient\u00a0 Manor\u00a0 Of Beggary \u2013 5 pages longer.<\/p>\n

Two maps, six photographs and text.<\/p>\n

New<\/span> Appendix Two<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Horae B.V.M. Secundum Usum Sarum \u2013 3 pages longer.<\/p>\n

A description and pictures of the Book of Hours in the British Library dating from the early 15th<\/sup> century and once owned by Robert Fitzhugh (1527-1609).<\/p>\n

Volume II<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter One \u2013 Henry Fitzhugh \u00a01614-1666<\/strong>\u2013\u00a05 pages longer.<\/p>\n

Information regarding the picture of Henry; John Bunyan; William Verney; Discussion of the Bedford Navigation; Robert Fitzhugh\u2019s dispute with Cromwell\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0Roundheads; much improved pictures of the signatures of Henry, Mary, and Robert Fitzhugh; much information and picture of Elizabeth Fort, Cork.<\/p>\n

New possibilities for what Henry borrowed all the money for…<\/p>\n

[Existing text page 13, Volume II] \u2026 In any event, he failed to get the necessary legislation, and the Navigation had to wait until the latter years of the century for completion.<\/p>\n

A second possibility may have arisen from events far from the bounds of Bedford. The Irish Rebellion of 1641, which developed into the Irish Confederate Wars, or the Eleven Years War of 1641-53, necessitated Charles I to raise huge sums to support his armies. He did so by promoting various Adventurers Acts of 1641-3 and 1647.[i]<\/a> These Acts sold 2\u00bd million acres of land in Ireland to \u201cAdventurers\u201d (i.e. investors) who would gain possession when the \u201cRebels\u201d were defeated. Prices varied between \u00a3200 and \u00a3600 for 1000 acres with \u201cfree and common socage\u201d of 1d to 2\u00bdd per annum to be paid to the King.[1]<\/a> Victory was not declared until May 1653, when Parliament established a Committee to validate claims of adventurers since 1642.[ii]<\/a> It is clear from ensuing documentation that by this time the titles to these lands were in a state of utter chaos,[iii]<\/a> and it was at this precise moment that Henry borrowed the \u00a3900, promising to pay back within a year. By the spring of 1652, the Rebellion was \u201call but extinguished\u201d[iv]<\/a> and Henry would have had a full year to plan his scheme before any adventurers actually got their land. The original county-by-county scale of prices was by this time found to be totally inappropriate, by a factor of ten in some cases.[v]<\/a> To buy on an open frontier market just when peace was declared, with an intention to profit in a property boom and sell out quickly, is just the sort of speculation that has tempted many throughout the ages. All of the incentives were there \u2013 propaganda of the time stated that \u201cHe that hath many children may raise his younger sons to as great a fortune by \u00a3200 purchase in this way as \u00a32,000 in trade\u2026\u201d[vi]<\/a> The Adventurers\u2019 shares had languished for ten years with no return, and by the 1650s speculation in devalued shares was rife. It was an obvious strategy for Henry to hold off till the last moment hoping to make a quick killing. What is more, Parliament had made it obligatory for soldiers to be paid in Irish land, and at the original 1642 values too, even though by 1647 the yet-to-be-reclaimed land had fallen in value. Many of those soldiers would have wanted to sell up at a discount and come home. To Henry, it would have seemed irresistible. Unfortunately, of the 2576 names throughout the references,[vii]<\/a> mostly of persons of higher social standing than Henry, his name has not been found. Perhaps he bought unwisely? Perhaps he was swindled? The fact that he later went to Ireland to work and die may itself be an important clue \u2013\u00a0 the result of his using connections or contacts there which he had made from his attempts and activities in the Irish Adventure.<\/p>\n

A third possibility\u00a0 was nearer to home \u2013 the Draining of the Fens, a project in all of the Counties north and east of Bedford which attracted a great number of adventurers. An Act of Parliament[viii]<\/a> enabled investors to buy boggy land yet to be drained at 50s\/acre with a minimum purchase of 500 acres for \u00a31250. It is very tempting to wonder if Henry was in on that scheme, but on the face of it, it seems not, or at least not at the beginning. The Act was required payment within three months of its passage, and extremely well documented histories[ix]<\/a> of the Drainage name all adventurers in the \u201cLot Book\u201d, but no Fitzhugh is there.<\/p>\n

Had Henry pulled off the first of these coups, he would have made such a fortune that the Fitzhughs would\u00a0 never have needed to leave Bedford.\u00a0 The second or third would have turned a tidy profit. As we shall see, whatever it was had the opposite effect of putting the family in considerably reduced circumstances, from which neither he nor his poor widow ever recovered.<\/p>\n

While all this was unfolding\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Cromwellian Occupation of Ireland was the second largest English investment project of the time. Virginia had only been \u00a3200,000 thirty years before, and only the East India Company was larger at \u00a32,887,000. English Money and Irish Land, the \u2018Adventurers\u2019 in the Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland, <\/em>Karl S. Bottigheimer, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971, British Library 74\/17650, pp.54-55.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[i]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 British Library Shelfmark B.K.5\/5.<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 British Library Shelfmark 21.b.13.69, 75, 77,\u00a0 78); E.1062(1.).<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 British Library Shelfmark 115.i.21., G.5799(1.), 816.m.17.(74).<\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bottigheimer, Karl S., English Money and Irish Land, the \u2018Adventurers\u2019 in the Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland, <\/em>Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971, British Library 74\/17650, p.54.<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bottigheimer, op. cit<\/em>., p.42.<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bottigheimer, op. cit<\/em>., p.57 & 119.<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bottigheimer, op. cit<\/em>., p.181 & 203.<\/p>\n

[viii]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An Act for the Draining of the Great Level of the Fens, 29 May, 1649.<\/p>\n

[ix]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The History of the Drainage of the Great Level of the Fens, called Bedford Level, with the Constitution and Laws of the Bedford Level Corporation<\/em>, [Vol 1] Samuel Wells, 1830, 832pp., British Library 725.h.21; A Collection of the Laws which form the Constitution of the Bedford Level Corporation &c\u2026, <\/em>[Vol 2]\u00a0 Samuel Wells, 1828, British Library 725.h.22; Cambridgeshire Archives Registers of Bargains, Sales, and Mortgage Indentures <\/em>R\/59\/31\/1A*, Proceedings of Adventurers<\/em> R59\/39\/1\/4.<\/p>\n

Chapter One \u2013 William Fitzhugh the Immigrant<\/strong> \u00a01651-1701 \u2013 8 pages longer.<\/p>\n

More information on the picture of William; Extensive discussion on when William first went to Virginia, with reference to the new Appendix Ten \u201cWhat did William do with Elizabeth?\u201d; Evidence showing that William had a first wife Elizabeth; Sarah Tucker\u2019s inheritance; How William got his first start in Virginia; William\u2019s power and prowess as a Magistrate and lawyer; much more information on William\u2019s use of the wrong Coat of Arms; a discussion of 20th<\/sup> century revisionist theories of slavery and early Virginia socio-economics, with reference to William himself; more information on Ravensworth.<\/p>\n

In reply to a query as to how William got his legal training, the following has been added:<\/p>\n

It has long been a mystery as to how William acquired his legal education. It is certain that he was not educated at an Inn of Court in England \u2013 there\u00a0is no\u00a0evidence and he could not have afforded it anyway. Many lawyers in Virginia were taught by clerking in a law office; indeed this was possible in Virginia until 1905, and law examinations were not introduced until 1745. George Brent, William\u2019s law partner, as well as two of William\u2019s sons, Henry and John, became lawyers by this route.<\/p>\n

Chapter Two \u2013 John Fitzhugh \u00a01692-1733<\/strong> \u2013 1 page longer.<\/p>\n

Additional dates; Information on the McCarthy Family; Much information on John\u2019s Will.<\/p>\n

Chapter Two \u2013 Colonel William Fitzhugh<\/strong> 1725-1791 \u2013 1 page longer.<\/p>\n

New colour picture of the Marmion Room, Metropolitan Museum; grandfather Daniel McCarty\u2019s Will; William\u2019s Will and concerns for and bequests to his children.<\/p>\n

Chapter Two \u2013 John Fitzhugh<\/strong> \u2013 1 page longer.<\/p>\n

More information that John was the\u00a0 first born; slaves left to him by his father; more detail on Revolutionary War service; congenital eye disease suffered by this branch of the family and descendants; unsettled claim 110 years later for Revolutionary War expenses.<\/p>\n

Chapter Two \u2013 Philip Fitzhugh<\/strong> \u00a01792-1836 \u2013 7 pages longer.<\/p>\n

A bizarre story of how Philip\u2019s father-in-law duelled with Colonel Sam Houston, which led much later to John Henry Fitzhugh going to Texas; very much information on Shooter\u2019s Hill; much information on the life of brother Dennis Fitzhugh.<\/p>\n

Chapter \u00a0Three \u2013 John Henry Fitzhugh<\/strong> \u00a01821-1894 \u2013 33 pages longer.<\/p>\n

Information on life near Urbanna, Virginia; the decline of the financial state of the family; the courtship and romantic lives of the males of the generation; The Mexican War; The Battle of Buena Vista; portrait and exploits of brother Patrick Henry; Joh\u2019s promotion and demotion as an Officer; John\u2019s escape from a gunshot wound; life on the railroad; courtship of Harriett Bullitt; brother Edwin\u2019s adventures and death in Nicaragua; life and death of the filibuster George Walker; the Battle of Rivas; Joh\u2019s hardware business; settlement in Texas; extensive history of the swashbuckling exploits in the Civil War of brother Thaddeus; John\u2019s hardship during the Civil\u00a0 War; John\u2019s later life settled in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

Chapter \u00a0Three \u2013\u00a0 George Fitzhugh<\/strong> \u00a01806-1881<\/p>\n

Short quotation from the New York Times<\/em>, 1856.<\/p>\n

Notes On The Family Tree<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201322 pages longer.<\/p>\n

Substantial changes to the following Notes: 30, 33, 44, 50, 52, 60, 70 (Will of John Tucker; a long discussion proving that William the Immigrant was indeed the William Fitzhugh who left Bedford); 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 100, 101, 103, 104, 105, 111, 12, 113, 115, 135, 137.<\/p>\n

Appendix \u00a0One<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Relationship of our Family to the Barons FitzHugh and the Arms of Each Family \u00a0\u2013 8 pages longer.<\/p>\n

Results of a long debate as to whether there is any relationship between our Fitzhugh Family and the Barons FitzHugh, as well as to the question of which Arms are correct for our family.\u00a0 It is conclusively proved that there is no relationship, and that William The Immigrant used the wrong Arms.<\/p>\n

Appendix \u00a0Three<\/strong> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Other Fitzhugh Families<\/p>\n

Up to date results on the Fitzhugh DNA project explaining how many different families we currently identify.<\/p>\n

Appendix\u00a0 Six<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Origin of the Fitzhugh China Pattern \u2013 1 page longer.<\/p>\n

Since 1999, pictures of the Fitzhugh China Pattern have been added. Since the AuthorHouse edition, better pictures have replaced the first ones.<\/p>\n

Appendix\u00a0 Eight<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Town of Bedford, the Fitzhugh Property, and Bedford Bridge\u00a0 \u2013 2 pages longer.<\/p>\n

Additions are a map of Bedford in 1611 showing where the Fitzhugh property was located, and a contemporary picture of Bedford Bridge.<\/p>\n

Appendix Nine<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My Granny Was a Whore\u2026, Or A Love Story\u2026, Or Our Descent from Henry VIII? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 43 pages, with 10 pictures and two family trees.<\/p>\n

\u00a0New<\/span><\/strong> Appendix not in 1999 Edition\u00a0 This Appendix applies to anyone descended from Mary Macon Aylett and Philip Fitzhugh, or anyone descended collaterally from John West and Unity Crowshaw.<\/p>\n

Additions between the AuthorHouse edition of 2007 and Now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Appendix Ten<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What Did William Do with Elizabeth?\u00a0 \u00a0\u2013 10 pages, 2 pictures. New<\/span><\/strong> Appendix not in 1999 Edition nor AuthorHouse Edition.\u00a0 Explains the evidence for the existence of William the Immigrant\u2019s first wife Elizabeth, and deduces what happened to her. Also a convincing argument as to when William first went to Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>There has been a major rewrite of the chapter William the Immigrant taking account of analysis of The Black Book<\/em> to explain the theory of what happened to his first wife Elizabeth and the conclusion that he went to Virginia, returned to Bedford, and then returned to Virginia. This is Appendix Ten above.<\/p>\n

DNA results in Appendix Three reflect the conclusion that there are five Fitzhugh families, not four.<\/p>\n

Major additions have been made to Appendix Nine in light of an article by Sally Varlow, including new picture of Catherine Carey Knollys.<\/p>\n

Incorporation into Appendix Two the fact that we lose Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt as ancestors because Henry Carey was not the father of Mary Boleyn\u2019s children, as shown in Appendix Nine.<\/p>\n

Appendix\u00a0Eleven –<\/strong> 5 pages<\/p>\n

A new appendix titled “How Did William Become a Lawyer?” has been added. No firm\u00a0answer can be reached owing to a\u00a0lack of records, but it is argued plausibly that he worked in Bedford as a clerk in the courts for a few years before setting out for Virginia. Once there in what was a very unregulated legal environment, he used his knowledge and experience to work his way up in the colonial legal profession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ever-Expanding Volumes of The History of the Fitzhugh Family The earliest edition of this work appeared in January 1999, and was supplied to numerous family members who kindly bought copies of the book privately published by Henry A. Fitzhugh. As with all labours of love, and especially family histories that are subject to ongoing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183,"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions\/183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fitzhugh-genealogy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}